Today, in another move suggesting he was dead serious about MAGA, President Trump killed the TPP, the Trans Pacific Partnership (a.k.a. SHAFTA).

WASHINGTON — President Trump formally abandoned the Trans-Pacific Partnership on Monday, pulling away from Asia and scrapping his predecessor’s most significant trade deal on his first full weekday in office, administration officials said.

Mr. Trump sharply criticized the partnership agreement during last year’s campaign, calling it a bad deal for American workers. Although the deal had not been approved by Congress, the decision to withdraw the American signature at the start of Mr. Trump’s administration is a signal that he plans to follow through on promises to take a more aggressive stance against foreign competitors.

He’s also talking seriously about renegotiating the giant sucking sound of NAFTA.

There’s nothing wrong with free trade – as long as it’s free. Trump’s plan to cut massive amounts of useless regulations will help level the American side of the playing field. These things work better when everyone is on equal terms. We haven’t been.

I was on an anti-TPP kick a year and a half ago. Then, people in the know were calling it the dirtiest deal you’ve never heard of. And that slogan was an Australian concern. They even made door hangers:

Thanks again to Super Kiwi!

If the Aussies didn’t know much about TPP, you can bet most Americans knew nothing. The Act was, after all, locked away in a secret vault beneath the Capitol for most of its life. It was and would have done the following:

* The TPP was constructed in secret by corporations. Congress and the public had no input. This is fundamentally undemocratic and undermines transparency in government.

* It is a trade deal that increases corporate power and CEO bonuses.

* Thousands of jobs out-sourced to countries that do not respect human rights or worker’s rights.

* It allows transnational corporations to sue countries if they believe they have been harmed (sometimes speculatively) in a trade agreement written by corporations and behind closed doors.

* Expands the deregulation of banks, hedge funds and insurance companies. Remember the Wall Street crash of 2008 due to deregulation? Regulations keep corporations honest and prevent them from harming us.

* Harms environmental regulations in counties that are part of the TPP.

In their great haste and Satanic secrecy it seems Congress actually forgot to pass the thing. Rather, they simply voted the President necessary powers to implement as he saw fit. That applies to any President. And this one does not see fit.

Say goodbye to the worse deal you never heard of. Good riddance.